fic: Walk by Faith [Amnesty 2008] [fight or flight] and/or [secret superpowers]
Title: Walk By Faith
Author: scarlet_gryphon
Challenge(s) Amnesty 2008, Fight or flight and/or Secret Superpowers
Pairing: Peter Grodin/ Miko Kusanagi friendship
Rating: PG-13 for language and action sequences
Warnings: A bit of language, but other than that, nothing much.
Length: ~1348 words
Author's Notes: This is my first time delving into the Coyote 'Verse, and I'm very thankful that irony_rocks has allowed me to play in her sandbox. This was written before Amnesty 2008, but I'm submitting it so A) I get it out there more, and B) I stop procrastinating about finishing my other 'fic I have going for Amnesty 2008. Timeline in the Coyote 'Verse is about two months after the Seabrook spill. No previous knowledge of the 'Verse is needed, though if you want to figure out what the hell's going on, go on over to coyote_sga and read through the stories. Start with "Genesis", and work your way through. *End shameless plug for new writers and readers*
Disclaimer: No, Mr. Lawyerbot, I don't own any of the recognisable characters. I do, however, own the Bookbag of Doom (TM).
They had been together from the beginning, two out-of-place souls with nowhere to go, and no one to claim as family, save for each other. Peter hadn’t talked to his family in over 15 years, not since they had sent him to live with a second cousin in Pasadena to attend the prestigious CalTech to study Physics. He’d enjoyed it while he’d been there, though he’d sorely missed his family. Then the Seabrook spill had happened, right as Peter was starting his graduate program. He thought he had escaped forming any mutations, but all notions of that went out the window the night he met Miko.
He had been walking home from class when he heard a commotion coming from a nearby alley. Normally, most people would’ve just walked on by, hoping it was just a couple of cats fighting and nothing more, but this night was different. This night, someone screamed. A woman, to be exact. After a moment’s indecision, Peter squared his shoulders and strode into the alley, shifting his heavy messenger bag so that it wouldn’t get in his way. Up ahead, he could see a group of three men crowded around something-or someone- on the ground. Angry shouts and racial slurs could be heard coming from the men’s mouths, underpinned by a soft stream of broken cries. A lone floodlight provided illumination, though it was high enough that the men didn’t notice Peter approaching. At least, not until he swung his book-bag at one of them, aiming for maximum effect with minimum possibility of life-threatening injuries. Ah, physics. The man cried out when the bulky bag hit him in the side, producing a nasty crunching sound that promised at the very least a few cracked or broken ribs, and knocked him into his fellow attackers.
Dodging the fists of the one that hadn’t lost his balance, Peter dropped his bag, ducked, and jabbed out with his fist, aiming for his opponent’s solar plexus. He got lucky, and managed to knock the wind out of the taller man, driving him to the ground. Peter paused for a moment, and that was nearly his undoing, as he had forgotten about the third assailant. Stars burst across his vision, and he bit his tongue as he staggered forwards, nearly tripping over the petite woman on the ground.
“Shit!” he swore, spitting out blood. He spun around to see the man advancing on him, a murderous look in his eyes.
“Mutant lover.” The man snarled. “What’d you go and ruin the fun for?”
“Fun?” Peter spat, the taste of copper laying thick and heavy on his tongue. “You were attacking an innocent woman. In what civilized world is that ‘fun’?”
“’S not human any more.” Was the man’s logic. Peter rolled his eyes.
“How do you know she’s a mutant?” he asked, continuing to back away from the thick-set man. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all...
The man snorted. “’S obvious.” He narrowed his eyes. “Come to think of it, you look like a mutie too...”
Peter barely had time to take a few steps backwards before he found himself trapped in a blind corner by the thug, who had a nasty leer across his face. “Let’s see how much damage you can do now, pussy-boy.” Peter’s eyes grew wide as he saw the thug draw back his fist for what looked like a nose-crunching blow, and he desperately wished to be somewhere else. He caught sight of the woman, who had hidden behind a crate, watching the scene with wide eyes. The next thing he knew, a wave of disorientation swept over him, and he was collapsing onto the ground next to her. A howl of pain reverberated between the walls of the alley as the thug, with his intended target now gone, plowed his hand into the concrete wall of the building.
“Let’s get out of here while we still can.” The woman said, pulling Peter to his feet. She looked over at the lone thug, who was cursing up a storm at the far end of the alley and cradling his now-broken hand gingerly. “Hurry.” Peter scooped up his book-bag from the alley floor and dashed out to the safety of the sidewalk, the woman right beside him. They didn’t stop running for a couple more blocks, and then ducked into a 24-hour diner. They took a table at the back, sighing in relief when no one gave them a second glance.
After a few minutes of silence, which grew ever more uncomfortable, Peter spoke up. “So, what’s your name?” he asked his companion. She looked up, startled.
“Miko. Miko Kusanagi. And you?” she replied, setting down her menu.
“Peter Grodin. Are you okay?”
“They didn’t have time to do anything to me, thanks to you.” She said, smiling brightly. “What about you? Are you hurt?”
Peter smiled wryly. “I bit my tongue, but other than that, I should be okay. What surprised me more than anything was what happened after I got hit.”
“You weren’t aware that you could... do that?” Miko asked.
Peter shook his head. “I thought I had gotten away scot-free from the mutations.” He snorted, and then sipped at his hot tea. God, that felt good. “Just a bit arrogant, right?”
“A little.” Miko said. “I, uh, wanted to thank you, by the way. There’s not many people in this city that would do something like that, especially for a complete stranger- and a mutant.”
“So they were right? What’s your-” Peter cut himself off, shaking his head. “Sorry. I shouldn’t pry.”
“Please, you saved my life. Besides, it’s nothing as spectacular as your teleportation. My gifts deal with technology. I suppose you could call me a technomage.”
Peter chuckled, and Miko looked at him in confusion. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” Peter hastily reassured her. “It’s just that you seem so calm about all of this, and I’ve only just found out what I can do. I don’t even know if it’s triggered by stress, or if I can teleport in normal situations.”
“Better figure that out soon, huh?” Miko suggested. “Before you get into another fight.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Peter agreed, nodding. “How long have you known about what you can do?”
“Almost since the spill, so about two months.” Miko said, glancing at the framed pictures on the wall. “I was in robotics class, up at CalTech. I was working late at night, trying to fix a motor for the robotics competition, and got so frustrated that I basically told it to fix itself. To my surprise, it did. Needless to say, I was scared, and then I tried doing a few other things- little things, like making LED lights turn on and off without a battery, stuff like that. It was amazing.” A beatific smile formed on her face at the memories of discovery.
“Wow. That’s a hell of a lot better than finding out what you could do in the middle of a fistfight.” Peter chuckled, shaking his head. “Look, it’s late, and we should probably get home. Maybe we can meet up again sometime soon?”
Miko nodded. “I’d like that, Peter.” She replied. “I’m free on Friday. We can do some tests to see what you can do.”
“Good idea. Friday it is, then. Where d’you want to meet?”
“Outside the library. We can figure out where we want to go from there.”
Peter nodded, placed more than enough money to cover both their drinks and the tip on the table, and then stood up.
“Are you in the dorms? I can walk you there if you want.” He said, but Miko shook her head.
“I’ll be fine. I’m not too far away from here, actually.” She stood as well, and then smiled. “Take care of yourself, Peter.”
“Hey, I’ve got my trusty satchel of Doom, remember?” Peter quipped, patting the heavily-laden bag. “I’ll be fine.”
Miko laughed, and Peter decided that it was the best thing he had witnessed all night. Hopefully, he’d be able to make her do it again.
Author: scarlet_gryphon
Challenge(s) Amnesty 2008, Fight or flight and/or Secret Superpowers
Pairing: Peter Grodin/ Miko Kusanagi friendship
Rating: PG-13 for language and action sequences
Warnings: A bit of language, but other than that, nothing much.
Length: ~1348 words
Author's Notes: This is my first time delving into the Coyote 'Verse, and I'm very thankful that irony_rocks has allowed me to play in her sandbox. This was written before Amnesty 2008, but I'm submitting it so A) I get it out there more, and B) I stop procrastinating about finishing my other 'fic I have going for Amnesty 2008. Timeline in the Coyote 'Verse is about two months after the Seabrook spill. No previous knowledge of the 'Verse is needed, though if you want to figure out what the hell's going on, go on over to coyote_sga and read through the stories. Start with "Genesis", and work your way through. *End shameless plug for new writers and readers*
Disclaimer: No, Mr. Lawyerbot, I don't own any of the recognisable characters. I do, however, own the Bookbag of Doom (TM).
They had been together from the beginning, two out-of-place souls with nowhere to go, and no one to claim as family, save for each other. Peter hadn’t talked to his family in over 15 years, not since they had sent him to live with a second cousin in Pasadena to attend the prestigious CalTech to study Physics. He’d enjoyed it while he’d been there, though he’d sorely missed his family. Then the Seabrook spill had happened, right as Peter was starting his graduate program. He thought he had escaped forming any mutations, but all notions of that went out the window the night he met Miko.
He had been walking home from class when he heard a commotion coming from a nearby alley. Normally, most people would’ve just walked on by, hoping it was just a couple of cats fighting and nothing more, but this night was different. This night, someone screamed. A woman, to be exact. After a moment’s indecision, Peter squared his shoulders and strode into the alley, shifting his heavy messenger bag so that it wouldn’t get in his way. Up ahead, he could see a group of three men crowded around something-or someone- on the ground. Angry shouts and racial slurs could be heard coming from the men’s mouths, underpinned by a soft stream of broken cries. A lone floodlight provided illumination, though it was high enough that the men didn’t notice Peter approaching. At least, not until he swung his book-bag at one of them, aiming for maximum effect with minimum possibility of life-threatening injuries. Ah, physics. The man cried out when the bulky bag hit him in the side, producing a nasty crunching sound that promised at the very least a few cracked or broken ribs, and knocked him into his fellow attackers.
Dodging the fists of the one that hadn’t lost his balance, Peter dropped his bag, ducked, and jabbed out with his fist, aiming for his opponent’s solar plexus. He got lucky, and managed to knock the wind out of the taller man, driving him to the ground. Peter paused for a moment, and that was nearly his undoing, as he had forgotten about the third assailant. Stars burst across his vision, and he bit his tongue as he staggered forwards, nearly tripping over the petite woman on the ground.
“Shit!” he swore, spitting out blood. He spun around to see the man advancing on him, a murderous look in his eyes.
“Mutant lover.” The man snarled. “What’d you go and ruin the fun for?”
“Fun?” Peter spat, the taste of copper laying thick and heavy on his tongue. “You were attacking an innocent woman. In what civilized world is that ‘fun’?”
“’S not human any more.” Was the man’s logic. Peter rolled his eyes.
“How do you know she’s a mutant?” he asked, continuing to back away from the thick-set man. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all...
The man snorted. “’S obvious.” He narrowed his eyes. “Come to think of it, you look like a mutie too...”
Peter barely had time to take a few steps backwards before he found himself trapped in a blind corner by the thug, who had a nasty leer across his face. “Let’s see how much damage you can do now, pussy-boy.” Peter’s eyes grew wide as he saw the thug draw back his fist for what looked like a nose-crunching blow, and he desperately wished to be somewhere else. He caught sight of the woman, who had hidden behind a crate, watching the scene with wide eyes. The next thing he knew, a wave of disorientation swept over him, and he was collapsing onto the ground next to her. A howl of pain reverberated between the walls of the alley as the thug, with his intended target now gone, plowed his hand into the concrete wall of the building.
“Let’s get out of here while we still can.” The woman said, pulling Peter to his feet. She looked over at the lone thug, who was cursing up a storm at the far end of the alley and cradling his now-broken hand gingerly. “Hurry.” Peter scooped up his book-bag from the alley floor and dashed out to the safety of the sidewalk, the woman right beside him. They didn’t stop running for a couple more blocks, and then ducked into a 24-hour diner. They took a table at the back, sighing in relief when no one gave them a second glance.
After a few minutes of silence, which grew ever more uncomfortable, Peter spoke up. “So, what’s your name?” he asked his companion. She looked up, startled.
“Miko. Miko Kusanagi. And you?” she replied, setting down her menu.
“Peter Grodin. Are you okay?”
“They didn’t have time to do anything to me, thanks to you.” She said, smiling brightly. “What about you? Are you hurt?”
Peter smiled wryly. “I bit my tongue, but other than that, I should be okay. What surprised me more than anything was what happened after I got hit.”
“You weren’t aware that you could... do that?” Miko asked.
Peter shook his head. “I thought I had gotten away scot-free from the mutations.” He snorted, and then sipped at his hot tea. God, that felt good. “Just a bit arrogant, right?”
“A little.” Miko said. “I, uh, wanted to thank you, by the way. There’s not many people in this city that would do something like that, especially for a complete stranger- and a mutant.”
“So they were right? What’s your-” Peter cut himself off, shaking his head. “Sorry. I shouldn’t pry.”
“Please, you saved my life. Besides, it’s nothing as spectacular as your teleportation. My gifts deal with technology. I suppose you could call me a technomage.”
Peter chuckled, and Miko looked at him in confusion. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” Peter hastily reassured her. “It’s just that you seem so calm about all of this, and I’ve only just found out what I can do. I don’t even know if it’s triggered by stress, or if I can teleport in normal situations.”
“Better figure that out soon, huh?” Miko suggested. “Before you get into another fight.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Peter agreed, nodding. “How long have you known about what you can do?”
“Almost since the spill, so about two months.” Miko said, glancing at the framed pictures on the wall. “I was in robotics class, up at CalTech. I was working late at night, trying to fix a motor for the robotics competition, and got so frustrated that I basically told it to fix itself. To my surprise, it did. Needless to say, I was scared, and then I tried doing a few other things- little things, like making LED lights turn on and off without a battery, stuff like that. It was amazing.” A beatific smile formed on her face at the memories of discovery.
“Wow. That’s a hell of a lot better than finding out what you could do in the middle of a fistfight.” Peter chuckled, shaking his head. “Look, it’s late, and we should probably get home. Maybe we can meet up again sometime soon?”
Miko nodded. “I’d like that, Peter.” She replied. “I’m free on Friday. We can do some tests to see what you can do.”
“Good idea. Friday it is, then. Where d’you want to meet?”
“Outside the library. We can figure out where we want to go from there.”
Peter nodded, placed more than enough money to cover both their drinks and the tip on the table, and then stood up.
“Are you in the dorms? I can walk you there if you want.” He said, but Miko shook her head.
“I’ll be fine. I’m not too far away from here, actually.” She stood as well, and then smiled. “Take care of yourself, Peter.”
“Hey, I’ve got my trusty satchel of Doom, remember?” Peter quipped, patting the heavily-laden bag. “I’ll be fine.”
Miko laughed, and Peter decided that it was the best thing he had witnessed all night. Hopefully, he’d be able to make her do it again.